Aside from the elements of the earth itself, the two most plenteous endowments of this planet are sunshine and the waters of the sea. These limitless resources, hitherto largely neglected, can be jointly utilized, one as input energy and the other as input raw material, in order to produce, by a process of refinement and extraction, three elements of universal utility to mankind, namely, hydrogen, oxygen and chlorine.
A distinction should be made at the outset between water, usually taken to be fresh or potable, and sea water. In those areas of the earth where sunshine is most plentiful, water is nearly totally absent, but many of those areas of intense insolation are reasonably close to the sea. Thus if sea water be taken as the raw material and if solar energy be utilized both to refine said sea water by distillation and to produce electricity whereby both distilled water and raw sea water may be electrolyzed, all three of the gaseous elements can be extracted.
In the prior art, electrolysis of water is well known, as is the utilization of solar energy in this process. Solar heat was successfully utilized in the distillation of sea water, in order to produce potable water, during a period of nearly 40 years, starting over one hundred years ago, and this process is continued today in many hot, arid parts of the world. Yet, to the best of my knowledge and belief, no-one has hitherto combined this energy, this raw material and these arts into one process.